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Numbers, numbers everywhere, and finally we have some that show Android has overtaken the iPhone in total US users as of November. RIM Blackberry is still clinging to the top spot with 33.5% of users, but that number marks a drop from August, when Blackberry held 37.6%. Apple’s iPhone held relatively steady up from 24.2% in August to 25% in November. Meanwhile, Android continued its huge growth climbing up from 19.6% in August to 26% in November, to claim #2 on the list from comScore.

Given the insane growth rate of Android, it seems inevitable that Blackberry will be losing its top spot sometime this year. It should be interesting to hear Steve Jobs start talking about iPod Touch and iPads in order to spin these most recent numbers.

The numbers also showed Samsung holding onto the top spot of the OEM rankings, gaining .9 percentage points, likely boosted by the popularity of the Galaxy S line. On the other hand, Motorola dropped 1.8 percentage points. I’m sure they’re banking on their newly announced phones to help bring them back up.

19 Comments

If we're comparing operating systems your damn right that iOS totals should include the iPad and Touch. It's only fair. There are 9 iOS devices (i believe) if you count all the generations, compared to over a hundred Android devices. This is about the OS as a whole. WHen we compare Mac to PC we don't only count laptops, right? Still, this is great for Android. Sent from my T-Mobile G2.

Actually, Commscore does include Android tablets like the Dell Streak and Samsung Galaxy Tab. This is because Google has required manufacturers include phone hardware in their tablets in order to get access to the Android Marketplace. -Mart

i agree with Masai, android has an unfair advange with so many different phones and carriers, and im sure the android tablet doesnt contribute big numbers. its should be android vs iOS to make it fair tablets shud count also

You do realize that Apple could make as many phone form factors as they like, after all they are all made by by Asian companies anyway. It's not like Apple is limited to hardware designed by the manufacturing process, only their own design choices. Steve Jobs just can't get over himself. He thinks everything that they create is perfect the first time out and therefore doesn't need to have any other options available, just think "one button mouse"–what a qwerty keyboard for a phone? never at Apple because Steve J deemed it unnecessary, what a 4" or larger screen on a phone, no way those hummers will sell; a front facing camer on the iPad, not necessary. . . oh snap that'll come out in V2. . . etc. . . etc. . . . It's fine to like Apple products but please don't try and defend them as they loose market share because they are too stubborn to give users options on their hardware and bring down the walls to their platform. OH, and why don't they give these options? Profit. . . that's why they have the largest profit margin for any computer hardware company in the world!!!!

A huge number of manufactureres these days outsource their manufacturing process whether it be partially or totally. You can't blame Apple for that. What matters is who designed the products. It's just the way it is.

If the Google TV and AppleTv ran the same software as the iPhone then yes, they should be counted in any comparison that groups devices by operating system (however, the AppleTV doesn't run any apps and GoogleTV apps are pretty different to the sorts of mobile apps running on mobile devices). After all why group devices by operating system unless you are comparing the app platform? -Mart

Also, as for "unfair advantage" Apple has CHOSEN to remain as one manufacturer closed system and do everything itself. They should blame only themselves for their greed. They've got about 300 billing dollars of loose change to show for that. I'd imagine that comforts the nights spent crying over these statistics a bit.

The point of Apple devices is to lock you into a lifestyle that has you dependant on Apple sources and peripherals unlike all the other "normal" marketing ethics of standard companies. The people who choose to buy into the Apple Lifestyle make that choice regardless of all the signs that this company is out for total control of the device they just sold you and every penny they can squeeze out of your pocket! No, we don't make more than one phone a year becasue that would mean giving you a choice and that's not what we're about! One iphone a year is all you require, dispense with your old model and pay for the new version as instructed! No, you can not open your phone and change the battery, you have to pay for a new device, you must NEVER look inside the device, it is not yours, it is on lease! No, we do not use standard connections and outputs becasue that would give you options to buy from our competitors. You must buy what we develop to connect and not question it, give your money to our greater glory, you belong to us now! No, you can not expand the memory with third party developed memory cards becasue that would mean you give money to another company other than us so forget that option no matter how standard it is in other mobiles! Remember, you belong to us now! No, you can not have video calling to other networks, stay in the apple-device to apple-device, world and lump it, we're here to assimilate you into our cult, not set you free to do as you feel! No, you may not play other video media on your apple device, we develop our own for you to play so that should be all you need and we despise those apps that allow you to do otherwise! No, you may not have FLASH on your web browser becasue the CEO does not like it therefore neither should you! Besides, everything you need should be accessible through our own website and services so if your desire go beyond that then you are not following the guidelines of a good apple lifestyle follower! No, we do not like Jail-breaking becasue it allows too much freedom and choice which once again, we are not about! So one day we will carry out our threat to brick all phones that have broken the rules and you will know the wrath of Steve Jobs! Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave! And we will eventually dominate this world and control everything electronic in your household! Set our own high prices and you will pay it becasue you will have no other choice, there will not be a competitor left standing for you to consider otherwise. That's the plan, and we thank you for contributing towards it!

However, Apple's overall iOS installed base is still double the size of Android and daily sales of iOS devices look to still be greater than Android. Commscore only counts the iPhone not the hot-selling iPod Touch or iPad despite including tablets like the Dell Streak and Samsung Galaxy Tab in their Android smartphone OS figures. My question to you is: what are smartphone *operating system* marketshare figures useful for? If your answer is “so developers and consumers can see which is the largest platform for their software”, then why are you not including all iOS devices in your analysis? If you do that, then Apple’s installed base suddenly doubles and leaves both Android and Blackberry in the dust. If you answer that OS marketshare figures are important for advertisers, then again, why not include all iOS devices that share the same mobile browser and app platform? If you answer “so 3rd party hardware peripheral manufacturers know which platform to target” then you should be considering the far larger number of iOS devices that all share a common dock connector and standard form factor compared to the completely fragmented form factor and dock connector standards of the myriads of much smaller competitors. Of course consumers also want to know which phone has the most dock-equipped audio systems, car steering wheel interfaces, clock radios, etc and of course the answer is the iPhone which is virtually unchallenged in this regard. The fact is that Commscore includes tablets like the Streak and Galaxy Tab in their figures because Google requires all tablets include cell phone hardware in order to get access to the Android Marketplace. However, Commscore does not count the iPod touch and the iPad. The iPod touch even by itself boasts sales close to that of the iPhone, particularly during the pre-Christmas quarter. With the iPod touch and iPad completely obliterating the opposition in mini tablets and tablets respectively and sales of both equalling iPhone sales, Apple still has by far the largest mobile OS platform installed base easily doubling that of Android. In terms of new sales, back in October Apple was selling 270,000 iOS devices a day (peaking at 300,000 on some days) when Google was activating 200,000 Android devices. Recently Google announced they had hit 300,000 activations a day, and while we haven't yet heard what Apple's latest figures are it is highly likely they will be higher than Android thanks to the usual pre-Christmas sales surge of all iOS devices. If you are only interested in smartphones, then why aren’t you comparing Samsung, Motorola, HTC, etc all individually against Apple and RIM? After all, operating systems are only interesting if you are comparing in app platforms. Why can’t analysts make comparisons that are actually useful? -Mart